


not me. us.

by egeria



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bernie Sanders - Freeform, Crack Treated Seriously, M/M, Not Beta Read, We Die Like Men, engineer! sokka, teacher! zuko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26352304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egeria/pseuds/egeria
Summary: From Unknown Number: Hello, Zuko here with the Atlanta for Bernie campaign. We’re having a debate viewing at Manuel’s Tavern this Tuesday-- can we count on you to show up?--or: zuko and sokka meet via the bernie sanders campaign.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 177





	not me. us.

**Author's Note:**

> i... i don't have an excuse for this. *stares longingly at bernie sign still in window*
> 
> i'm ignoring 2020 for this fic. it doesn't exist. i don't see her.

Sokka had never been too politically active. That had definitely been more of Katara’s speed. She’d been the president of the Young Democrats at their university, while Sokka had been president of the Super Mario Smashbros club. While Katara and Aang were traveling to DC for conventions and interning for various voter engagement non-profits, Sokka was going to tournaments and kicking ass at Melee. It was great that they had their own interests, and it was never an issue.

But, as all things came to pass, it was once again an election cycle. Sokka had been out of college now for only a few months and had landed a nice job at an engineering firm in Atlanta. It had been difficult at first to move so far away from home-- most of his family still lived in Seattle, where he’d been raised and went to school. But Atlanta was a cool enough city, and he slowly found himself making friends and adapting.

In these last few months, apart from having to learn how to make friends outside of a classroom setting, Sokka noticed a few things about adulthood. For one, rent was an absolute scam. Two, health insurance was the most confusing thing in the world. And three, politics actually did affect him at the end of the day.

And as it was once again an election cycle, Sokka found himself actually researching the candidates. He’d asked Katara who her favorite was, to which she responded that she was a loyal Julian Castro fan and was already in the interviewing process to work for his campaign. Her backup option, though, was Bernie Sanders.

Sokka knew who Bernie was, of course. He didn’t live under a rock. And he knew the policies like healthcare for all and raising the minimum wage were big things on his platform. And after spending a night in with a glass of wine and some  _ House Hunters _ on in the background, with Sokka scrolling through the candidate’s Twitter and website, he ended up donating a measly $5 to the campaign and calling it a night.

What Sokka didn’t expect from that was the text messages that opened up. The Bernie campaign reached out more than his own dad. Normally, Sokka ignored the texts. It was pretty easy, considering how generic they were.

That was, until the texts started to get more personalized. He was sitting on a couch in the office dining hall, needing a break from the monotony of his desk. He loved his coworkers, and Teo and Haru were always fun to be around. But sometimes, being in one place all day started to get to him, and Sokka would find himself migrating to different parts of their large office space in one of the midtown Atlanta skyscrapers.

He’d been looking at one of the files for a project they were currently working on when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out, expecting it to be from either Katara or one of his other childhood friends. Instead, it was an unknown local number.

_ From Unknown Number: Hello, Zuko here with the Atlanta for Bernie campaign. We’re having a debate viewing at Manuel’s Tavern this Tuesday-- can we count on you to show up? _

Sokka arched an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected someone from the city to reach out to him. But still, he figured it might still be a bot who sends these out, or at the very least, it’s just a script. So he shot back a quick  _ Is there beer provided? _ And then went back to his work.

He didn’t really expect a response from that, so his phone buzzing definitely shocked him a bit. He glanced back down at his phone.

_ From Unknown Number: Technically, nothing is provided. Though beer drinking is encouraged. _

_ From Sokka: Will you be drinking? I don’t want to be the sole drinker present at this important political event. _

The response was instantaneous.  _ Last time we hosted one of these, we did a drinking game and all blacked out halfway through. You’ll be fine. _

A brief pause. And then:  _ If anyone higher up in the campaign asks, that didn’t happen _ .

Sokka let out a quick exhale of air that could be interpreted as a laugh. He wasn’t super passionate about the Bernie campaign, though given some of the other options, he definitely hoped the guy would win. But how could an extrovert like Sokka deny some quality social time with hopefully like-minded individuals?

_ From Sokka: Sure. I’ll be there. _

\--

In the end, he’d dragged Suki along with him. They’d met at a boot camp he’d signed up for right when he moved here. A boot camp which Suki led. A boot camp that utterly kicked Sokka’s ass. Now they were workout buddies, and though on a technical level exes, they were the best of friends.

He’d mentioned it in passing to her on Monday night, as he was spotting her in the weights section of the gym. Really, it was her fault that she’d mentioned that she was super excited about his campaign and that she’d voted for him last time in the primaries. Was Sokka just not expected to immediately beg her to come? As extroverted as he was, he had the strange ability to completely psyche himself out after he made socialization commitments. 

Which is how the two of them found themselves getting out of the Uber at Manuel’s Tavern, a left-leaning hotspot for the city. They were just five minutes early to the showing, but twenty minutes late to the actual start of the event. Stylishly late, Sokka would say. In actuality, Sokka had completely overthought hid outfit and it’d taken forever to leave. The campaign had apparently sequestered the room to the right of the entrance for their watch party, and after just a moment of hesitation, the two of them opened the doors and entered.

The group gathered inside was diverse-- in terms of race, gender, and age, at least. Suki gave him a small nudge. “See, this isn’t that bad.”

“Of course it isn’t!” Sokka said, his voice going up an octave. “Who said it’d go bad? I love socializing.”

Suki just responded with an unconvincing glare.

A woman about their age came up to them then, a small smile on their face. “Hi! I’m Jin. Are you here for the viewing party?”

Sokka nodded, and thankfully, Suki once again came to his rescue. “Yep! Sokka here got a text from the campaign mentioning it, and brought me along. Glad to be here!”

Jin’s smile widened. “We’re so happy you’re here! It’s about to start, but feel free to grab a seat at any of the tables! A server is coming around to take food and drink orders.”

They returned the smile and Sokka let himself be pulled off towards a table for four near the TV in the front. There was just one other person sitting there right now, and he was typing away at his laptop at a truly impressive pace. The man was also, perhaps, the most attractive man Sokka had ever seen. He had to also be around their age, and he had long black hair that was pulled up into a half-up, half-down style. Covering the left half of his face was a gnarly burn scar, though if anything Sokka thought it only made the man more attractive. 

“Mind if we sit here?” Suki asked, gesturing to the empty seats. Hot guy looked up, apparently startled at being addressed.

“Uh, yeah sure,” he responded. “Please feel free.”

The two sat, and an awkward silence permeated the air surrounding the table. Sokka cleared his throat. “I’m Sokka, by the way. This is Suki.”

Hot guy gave a small nod of acknowledgment. “Zuko. Nice to meet you.”

Sokka felt his face light up. “No way, dude! You’re the one who texted me!”

Zuko’s eyes widened. “Oh, really? How funny!” He paused, taking a moment to apparently think back on his last conversations before his eyes widened even further. “Are you the beer drinker?”

Suki started chuckling next to him as Sokka furiously blushed. “Hey man, I just wanted to see if there were gonna be some pitchers lined up. But,” and for this, Sokka leaned forward, lowering his voice, “I was promised a drinking game.”

It was Zuko’s turn to blush, even as he let out a small laugh. “Okay, I’ll see what I can arrange.”

A server came by just then, taking Suki and Sokka’s order after dropping off a cocktail for Zuko. For some reason, Sokka couldn’t be surprised at the man’s choice of gin and tonic for a drink. He didn’t even know the guy, but it seemed fitting.

Sokka opened his mouth to say just that, but loud music from the TV grabbed their attention, indicating that the debate was starting.

Zuko groaned a bit, and Sokka looked over. “What, not excited for the debate?”

He shook his head. “It’ll only manage to completely piss me off. I usually don’t even make it past the opening remarks with my whole drink.”

And he quickly proved that to be true. They hadn’t even made it through Amy Klobuchar’s speech before Zuko was ordering shots for the table, which Sokka also noticed Jin’s table followed suit. 

“Glad we didn’t drive,” Suki commented as the shot glasses were placed in front of them.

Zuko downed his. “It’s impossible to get through this sober.”

The first half of the debate went off without a hitch, with Zuko quietly complaining about different candidates or booing the moderators. As the alcohol began more freely flowing throughout the room, the complaints grew louder from everyone. Even Sokka found himself booing some old congressman from Maryland. 

“Man, why the fuck should we care about some, some  _ guy _ who worked for the health insurance industry?” Sokka asked, his words slightly slurring.

Suki raised her glass to that. “Cheers! Fuck the health insurance industry!”

“Fuck the health insurance industry!” Sokka echoed. 

“Fuck the health insurance industry!” The rest of the room cheered, including Zuko.

At the first commercial break, Suki left to go use the restroom, and Zuko reopened his computer, starting to type again, though at a much slower speed than before.

Sokka leaned over a bit, the world a bit blurry. “So, whatcha doin’?”

Zuko glanced up, and you could tell he was just a bit inebriated. “Oh, you know, grading.”

Sokka’s mouth dropped. “Bro, you’re a  _ teacher?” _

He nodded. “Yeah. I teach second grade. ‘S fun.”

Sokka nodded, though he didn’t really know what he was agreeing to. He loved kids and all, but being a teacher seemed terrifying. “Should prob’ly not grade right now.”

Zuko frowned. “But I have to.”

He shook his head. “Nuh uh, you’re drunk.”

Zuko’s frown deepened, but he slowly lowered the laptop. “You’re right. Just wanna distract myself from capitalism, you know?”

Sokka nodded in agreement. “I get you, man.”

The two of them sat in drunken silence, staring at each other with eyes getting progressively emptier when Suki returned and the drinking game continued.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Sokka does not remember the last half of the debate.

\--

He was more hungover than he’d been in a while and decided that today was a perfect work from home day. He texted his boss, citing a headache, and slowly worked on the project. He hadn’t felt this bad on a Wednesday since his freshman year.

He was on his second cup of coffee when his phone buzzed. He’d expected a text from Suki, probably canceling their gym plans for the afternoon, when he noticed it was an unknown number instead.

_ From Unknown Number: Hi, it’s Zuko from last night. Just wanted to thank you for letting me share a Lyft with you last night! Hope you aren’t feeling as awful as I am. And if you are, take solace in the fact that you aren’t currently surrounded by loud children _ .

Sokka let out a small chuckle. Honestly, he wasn’t too sure when he’d given Zuko his number last night, but considering the fact that he missing a good chunk of his memory from then, he couldn’t be too surprised.

_ From Sokka: No problem, man. Just let me know next time you Bernie Bros are partying like that again. I’ll make sure to hydrate more. _

There wasn’t a response for a while after that, which Sokka didn’t think was too surprising. He knew the other man was busy herding twenty seven-year-olds. Around lunch, his phone buzzed again, and Sokka eagerly picked it up.

_ From Zuko: Will do.  _

Sokka could see the typing bubbles appear and disappear for another few minutes, showing that Zuko as obviously having some trouble with his next text. Five minutes after the first, his phone vibrated again.

_ From Zuko: Though, if you’d like to hang out without the political stuff, I’d be down to go grab a drink? If you’d like. _

Sokka’s smile erupted into a large smile. He didn’t even know this guy past their drunken adventure last night, but he felt drawn to the handsome volunteer. 

_ From Sokka: Sure. Where and what time? _

\--

Which is how Sokka found himself on the patio of Apres Diem at seven o’clock that Friday evening, waiting for the arrival of his… date? He didn’t quite know if this was a friendship thing or a date thing. Hopefully, he’d clarify that soon.

Sokka and Zuko had been texting a decent amount since they’re initial messaging on Wednesday. During this time, Sokka had talked to him about his job and his passion for Super Smash Bros Melee, while Zuko had talked about his students and his passion for theatre. Sokka learned that Zuko was born and raised in New York City, but had moved down to Atlanta at sixteen to live with his uncle and had attended university at Georgia State. His uncle, Sokka had learned, owned a teahouse in the diverse northeast part of the city, before opening a new location in the trendy Ponce City Market food hall. This fact was accompanied by strong words on the gentrification of the east side of Atlanta.

He’d told Suki about the continued text conversations between him and Zuko. They’d rescheduled their workout for Thursday night, though Sokka was a bit peeved to find out that she hadn’t been hungover at all. Suki did not seem surprised at all at Sokka’s new friend.

“Well, you were flirting with him the entire night,” she had said, placing her weights on the ground.

Sokka’s mouth had dropped. “What? No way!” She’d just glared at him. After a moment, he relented. “Okay, but he’s cute!”

Suki had smiled at him and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. “I bet he thinks you’re cute, too. That’s why he asked you on a date.”

And now, here they were. Or, here Sokka was. Zuko had texted him ten minutes before.  _ The voters who keep rejecting an expanded subway system must not regularly drive in this city. _

Atlanta traffic was truly nightmare worthy, which was why Sokka had somewhat selfishly chosen a place walking distance to his apartment.

Zuko arrived just a few minutes later, a scowl on his face. “Sorry for being late,” he said, taking a seat across from Sokka. “I really think people get onto Piedmont and just forget how to drive.”

Sokka nodded empathetically. “And the potholes.”

Zuko groaned. “Christ, don’t even mention the potholes.”

Sokka laughed, reaching over to give Zuko a quick pat on the arm. Much to his delight, Zuko’s face formed a slight blush at the contact. Oh, this man was too easy to make red. This was dangerous.

They talked about some mindless things as they placed their drink orders with the server and looked over the menu. Eventually, Sokka asked about his plans for the weekend.

“Oh, did I not mention?” Zuko asked, looking up at Sokka. “My sister and our friends are coming into town.”

Sokka’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

Zuko, once again, blushed. “Ah, shit. Sorry. We only recently really reconciled, but we have some great mutual friends from our childhood. There’s an exhibit at the botanical gardens they want to come to see, so they’re coming down.”

He arched an eyebrow. “They’re coming down from New York just to see a garden exhibit?” he asked.

Zuko nodded. “Apparently my sister had some Delta SkyMiles to spare. She travels a lot for work.”

“What does she do?”

“Sales.” Zuko bit his lip. “She’s great at it, but I think she’s only successful because she’s terrifying. People are too scared to say no to her.”

Sokka laughed loudly at this. “Oh, I definitely relate. My sister works on campaigns. She’s terrifying.”

Zuko chuckled as well. “It takes a special person to work for campaigns, that’s for sure.”

“Does it take a special person to volunteer for campaigns?” Sokka teased.

Zuko rolled his eyes. “No, just a bored teacher who’s tired of being underpaid.”

Sokka raised his moscow mule glass. “I’m not in that situation at all, but I definitely agree.”

The other man raised his glass as well, a gin and tonic, and took a sip. “Here’s to hoping this time around isn’t as bad as 2016.”

\--

The date, which Sokka was absolutely sure that was a date, had gone exceptionally well. They had stayed until around midnight, before making tentative plans to go see a movie sometime this week. Over the weekend, Sokka had plans to hang out at Teo’s building’s pool with him and Haru. After a full day in the sun, kicking some ass at Melee, and some mild ribbing from his friends about him finding a new crush from a Bernie campaign text volunteer, Sokka made his way home and sat on his patio, enjoying the slowly dropping temperature. Georgia may be hot as hell, but its cool autumn nights were something he was growing to love.

After a few minutes of decompressing, he pulled his phone out to text Zuko.  _ Hope you had a great day at the gardens! My family doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but they’re coming down for that week just to hang out. Wanna know if it’s worth the price tag to go visit the gardens.  _

_ From Zuko: The gardens were great, and they have a great light exhibit around the holidays that I’d recommend. _

_ From Sokka: Oh shit, really? I’m not even Christian, but I gotta admit, I love me some fancy Christmas lights. _

_ From Zuko: Literally same. This is top secret, but Christmas is my favorite holiday. Solely because 1) I like giving presents and 2) the movies are top tier. _

_ From Sokka: BRO SAME. But lowkey, receiving presents is also great. _

_ From Zuko: I’m awful at receiving presents. Should probably practice not sounding like an awkward turtle when someone gives me a gift. _

_ From Sokka: Don’t worry, we can practice ;) _

_ From Zuko: ...Are you trying to do dirty talk… via promising me presents? _

_ From Sokka: “Do dirty talk” _

_ From Zuko: Fuck off. _

Oh, Sokka was accidentally going to fall in love with this man.

\--

They’d been seeing each other for about six weeks now, and if it were anyone else in his situation, Sokka might caution them that they’re moving too fast. But things just felt so right with Zuko, and their once a week dates turned into sleepovers, which turned into Zuko regularly crashing at Sokka’s apartment. He was half tempted to clear a drawer out for the other man. Sokka was also acutely aware that Zuko’s lease ended in just two months, and was trying to decide if now was a good time to mention moving in together.

Okay, so they’re moving fast. But so far, it’s going well, and he’s not going to ruin his happiness just because of some artificial dating standard probably put in place by heterosexuals.

Zuko was sitting on the couch, his feet in Sokka’s lap. Sokka once again had  _ House Hunters _ on in the background. He noticed his boyfriend’s intense look at his screen.

“Grading?” he asked.

Zuko’s head popped up, a startled look crossing his face. “No, no. Just some work for the campaign.”

Sokka arched an eyebrow. “Planning another debate watch party? Am I invited?”

“Of course you are,” Zuko said. “But I also help make spreadsheets sometimes. See how we’re doing on volunteers in the state and all that.”

“You know,” Sokka started, turning his head away from the TV, giving Zuko all of his attention. “I never asked you what makes you so passionate about Bernie.”

Zuko shrugged a bit. “A bit of everything, you know? He’s as progressive as we can get, and it’s a good start to ensuring we can try to help people out, and maybe, I don’t know, be less imperialist?”

Sokka snorted. “Unlikely.”

Zuko smiled a bit. “True. But, I don’t know, my dad is a rabid Trump supporter, which isn’t too surprising, and hearing the things he believes is just terrifying.”

Sokka wasn’t at all surprised that Ozai was a Trump supporter. He didn’t know too much about Zuko’s dad. He’d learned recently, however, that the reason Zuko had moved in with his uncle had been because his dad had kicked him out when he caught him with another boy. The story had broken Sokka’s heart (and definitely had him calling his dad the next day and thanking him for being a loving father), but that story, among with some smaller passing tales Zuko has brought up, had Sokka suspicious about where exactly Zuko had gotten that scar. But he wasn’t going to rush that story.

“And I don’t want you to think this is just me being like  _ fuck you, dad _ or whatever,” Zuko added on, and Sokka’s focus recentered to the here and now. “But I actually think Bernie might make a difference, even if it’s just a start. He’s not perfect, hell, he has some truly shitty views, but…” Zuko trailed off, before giving a small shrug. “When I was a scared sixteen-year-old gay boy who just got kicked out of their home, cut off financially, and sent down to Georgia to live with their uncle, I think Bernie is someone who at least would’ve genuinely listened and tried to help.”

A small, gentle smile formed on Sokka’s face, and he reached out to take one of Zuko’s hands. “I think those are all great reasons to volunteer. And I’m so glad you did.” He leaned over, giving him a small kiss. “If you hadn’t been an absolute Bernie stan, we wouldn’t have met.”

Zuko sputtered. “ _ Bernie stan? _ First, I have to deal with Bernie Bro, but now I’m a stan? What the fuck is a stan?”

Sokka laughed, giving Zuko another kiss before leaning back into the couch. Zuko was still muttering indignantly under his breath, but his eyes had returned to the screen. After a moment of that, he sighed before closing his laptop, looking back at Sokka.

“So,” Zuko started. “Wanna play Melee? I think I’ve figured it out by now.”

Sokka grinned, his face looking absolutely devious. “Oh, it would be my absolute pleasure to beat your ass.”

Zuko sat up fully, a grin finally overtaking his features as well. “Loser has to buy the shots at the next watch party.”

Sokka laughed, getting up to grab the controllers. “Hope you’ve been saving up, babe. Because you’re about to be buying.”

\--

Unsurprisingly, Sokka won every single game. And that night, as they laid curled up in his bed, Zuko asleep with his head on Sokka’s chest, his breath coming in evenly, Sokka couldn’t help but lean down and plant a small kiss on Zuko’s forehead.

He might not still be that politically minded. He listens eagerly to Zuko and Katara whenever they talk politics (and lord help him when the meet), and he’s pretty sure he’s going to actually vote in this primary.

But Sokka will always be grateful that, at the end of the day, Bernie Sanders was the reason that Zuko was in his arms right now. 

**Author's Note:**

> how is this my longest one-shot?
> 
> anywho, if you'd like, visit us at the [; zukka nation ](https://discord.gg/2UTjvC); discord server!


End file.
